In that and the original Hellraiser, details on Hell are kept scarce. It’s Barker’s other work where Cenobite Hell was revealed an order within regular Hell (keep in mind that the purpose of the Cenobites hasn’t changed; people don’t die and go to Cenobite Hell).

I don’t remember the biblical version of hell being refrenced to in hellhound heart but its been a while since I read that story.

All fair points.

The remake changed everything that was great about the original. They changed Barbara (and her fate). They changed Ben (and his fate). And…they changed Harry (and his fate).
I don’t really care about the amped up gore in the newer one. The original was shocking, and the remake was just annoying.

I mean, he wrote it and was on set. While not technically the same, it’s nearly the same.

And you didn’t like it? I think I prefer the original, but the 1990 version has its merits. Giving Barbara a more active role was a smart decision. Not sure how I feel about ramping up the dickish behavior of the downstairs guy, though.

In all of Clive Barker’s work, Cenobite Hell/Labyrinth is a separate faction within the biblical Hell. It’s not a parallel dimension. Its purpose has always been the same, though; the Cenobites are not demons that judge people for their sins (unlike what Dimension Films seems to think).

I hadn’t read anything about that, though it wouldn’t necessarily surprise me. Their talents seemed to be more in marketing and schmoozing the awards judges to get movies recognized that really weren’t of the caliber of the awards they were getting. “Shakespeare in Love” as Best Picture? Seriously? Has that even really help up as a movie people remember?

I definitely agree that Cenobites are not demons that judge people for there sins (as they have been erroneously portrayed in the later sequels), but it has been established by Clive Barker that Cenobite Hell/The Labyrinth is a separate order within the biblical Hell. It’s not a parallel dimension in its own right, though its purpose remains the same.

The guy who did The Mcpherson Tape, which recently had a feature on here.

A prequel showing Frank going in search of the box could be pretty cool – they could open up the world to other monsters while they’re at it. I’d be happy to watch that movie.

It’s probably my favorite franchise. I just hope this time around they keep the biblical hell/evil theme out of it.

I remember the first time I saw the trailer for Origins. I thought to myself, 2 minutes of a fan made trailer was better than the last 6 hours of hellraiser sequels lol.

Thankfully, they already lost Halloween to John Carpenter and Blumhouse. Now if Clive Barker can somehow get the Hellraiser rights back (which will probably end up happening if Dimension doesn’t release Judgment soon; that was another made-to-keep-the-rights sequel).

CJ, i agree w/ what you wrote but i think the Weinsteins/Dimension wasn’t even really good as business. i could swear that i read that they were nearly bankrupt or something. i’m just glad their atrocious empire has crashed.

Dimension Films/the Weinsteins are/were THE worst blights on horror movies. i’m so fucking happy they are gone (at least Harvey).

DON’T watch the remake. Other than not having to read subtitles, its pretty bad and lost what made the original one special.

With the current state of the sequels, I think this is a rare example of a franchise that probably needs a reboot. It’s gotten to the point that even Doug Bradley is starting to refuse to return (and this is the same guy that said “yes” to Bloodline,
Hellseeker, Deader, and Hellworld).

Thanks for sharing the review. Much appreciated.

In the original novel The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, Pinhead was a woman. In the movie Hellraiser (which was based on the book), Barker turned her into a man by casting Doug Bradley.

I don’t think anyone minds, though. Doug Bradley is awesome.

Not technically the same. And here’s another 2 cents..
I really can’t stand that movie.

It is indeed the same company.

Romero remade Night of the Living Dead in 1990, though with Tom Savini in the director’s chair.

Dimension, if I remember correctly, is part of the Weinstein empire, isn’t it? They have a reputation for being raging assholes, based on quite a bit of anecdotal information. Very good BUSINESS people, mind you, but not particularly good human beings, and not especially adept with movies, from what I’ve read. Just good a selling and marketing them.

If he did, it would have been just another Chucky movie that I wouldn’t have cared about.

Don Mancini nearly remade Child’s Play in 2011.

Yeah, there have been a number of pissing matches between Clive Barker and Dimension Films over the years (just take look at some of the back-and-forth regarding Hellraiser: Inferno).

http://www.clivebarker.info/hellraiser5.html

Really, Dimension just needs to let go of the rights. They aren’t even using the DTV format as a means to go around the MPAA. It’s just cannon fodder; Gary Tunnicliffe (Hellraiser: Judgment) is the only director in years that actually seems to care about what he’s doing.

Hitchcock with The Man Who Knew Too Much. George Sluizer with The Vanishing. Ole Bornedal, Nightwatch. Takashi Shimizu, Ju-On/The Grudge. Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments.

Thanks for that. I never watched either, but after reading about the remake, it sounds like a cash-in US remake when torture porn was ripe.

I don’t know the behind-the-scenes stuff, but sometimes these situations actually come down to personal vendettas and pissing matches. With the amount of money some of these studios have to throw around, it’s really nothing to blow a couple million dollars on a “placeholder” DTV release if you’re just being spiteful. It will likely make back the budget from diehards, and if not, then it’s a write-off.

The director Michale Haneke made Funny Games and the 2007 remake

They were literally handed a script for a reboot written by Clive Barker himself, with Doug Bradley intended to star. They did nothing with it. There was going to be a Michael vs. Pinhead film, with Barker writing and John Carpenter directing. They did nothing with it. In 2012, a group of filmmakers did all of the work for them by developing a fully formed pitch and trailer for a Hellraiser reboot, and they STILL did nothing with it.

What’s the point of making awful direct-to-video sequels to keep the rights if you aren’t actually going to use the rights?

https://youtu.be/CdjAlkDQ9Lg